Kincardine council heard a presentation on bike infrastructure from a local student.
Ryo Winchester, who is a student at Kincardine District Secondary School, shared with council that a disadvantage of existing cycling infrastructure is that destinations for young cyclists are not connected, leaving students with little choice but to bike on the road.
“My friends are biking on the sidewalk because they’re parents are telling them not to bike on the road,” explained the student. “And we’re getting yelled at to get off the sidewalk, where the road doesn’t really offer anything.”
Winchester spent his time at at the podium showing photos of Kincardine roadways as they approach destinations for kids, and gave perspective for how nervous cyclists might feel uncomfortable riding their bikes in areas that especially don’t have designated bike lanes, or signage to inform motorists of potential hazards.
He continued that in areas with roadside parking, it can be difficult.
“If you’re biking on the sidewalk, you’re weaving through crowds and it’s pretty tough, whereas if you’re biking on the road, you can’t bike on the side [by the parked cars], because you can get hit by the [car] doors.”
There are also areas where there isn’t a shoulder to cycling on, and that means that young cyclists are often needing to ride their bicycles in the lane of traffic.
“A lot of young cyclists will not have the confidence to do so, so you need some signage telling cyclists to bike on the road.”
Council complimented the young student for the presentation, and received it as information.
Mayor Kenneth Craig thanked him for the presentation, and said “You have been able to very pointedly show us some measures that might be implemented that would improve the safety of bicycling for our cycling community in Kincardine.”
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